Literacy Scores by Country, in Reading, Math, and Science

Among 15-year-old students, here’s how 77 countries compare in reading, math, and science. Higher scores are better.


These scores are from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). I kind of expected countries that excelled in one subject to be not as good in the other subject, but that wasn’t the case at all. If a country clusters around a certain score in reading, then they’re in the same range in the other subjects.

Note: B-S-J-Z stands for Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. PISA assessed different regions in China separately.

Become a member. Support an independent site. Make great charts.

See What You Get

Favorites

Where Bars Outnumber Grocery Stores

A closer look at the age old question of where there are more bars than grocery stores, and vice versa.

Counting Happiness and Where it Comes From

Researchers asked 10,000 participants to list ten things that recently made them happy. I counted and connected the dots.

Divorce Rates for Different Groups

We know when people usually get married. We know who never marries. Finally, it’s time to look at the other side: divorce and remarriage.

When You Will Die

With absolute certainty, you will die. When will it happen? That is a trickier question. But we can run simulations to explore the possibilities.